The Once and Future Dress

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You know the rule that if you wore a trend the first time around, you should excuse yourself when it reappears? Well, rules are made for breaking, right? Because I know for a fact I had a dress exactly like this in eighth or ninth grade — we’re talking late 1960s/early 1970s — but I could not resist a redo when I saw this at Reed’s Department Store in downtown Tupelo, Miss., today. This funky KLD dress is hand-wash polyster but feels just like soft brushed cotton. Cannot wait to wear it with black tights and boots or flats and channel my inner Stevie Nicks. And speaking of Reed’s, http://www.reeds.ms/, it’s one of the few local and family-owned department stores left. The downtown flagship location anchors a vital and growing Tupelo and includes a gift shop, bridal registry and Reed’s Gum Tree Bookstore that specializes in Southern writers and writing. There’s a smaller store in Tupelo’s The Mall at Barnes Crossing and ones in Starkville and Jackson. A signature of Reed’s, besides its local community focus, is its friendly and helpful staff. Take my dress, for example. The downtown store didn’t have the size I wanted, so the woman helping me called the mall store and found my size. So, of course I had to bring it home with me after that, right? It wouldn’t have been polite not to, after all that effort. That’s my story, anyway, and I’m sticking to it.

We Don’t See Eye to Eye, But …

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Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, already is getting lots of attention for her stands on issues, her experience, her viewpoints, her family … and her eyeglasses, which are awesomely flattering, chic and modern. From one glasses-wearer to another, I say “thank you, Governor.” it’s about time a woman in the public eye (sorry about that!) wears glasses with style and without apology. However, I still can’t vote for her — but that doesn’t stop me from admiring her choices in eye-wear. Good for her.
And does anyone else think she looks like Tina Fey, or is that just me? Or maybe Tina Fey looks like Sarah Palin.

Fall Non-Decorating

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I used to practically redo my house when fall rolled around — everything from autumn-themed dishes and linens in the kitchen to fall-scented soaps and lotions in the bathroom, not to mention hay bales, dried corn and pumpkins everywhere. That was back in my days as a Mom with Kids Running Around. Something about having kids makes us moms determined to make each holiday memorable — and my way was to turn the house into Fall HQ. This year, however, my kids are grown up and running around their own places and my husband only knows it’s fall because football’s started. So I celebrated the upcoming change of seasons by getting out orange and brown espresso cups and coffee mugs. That’s it. I’m done. No scarecrows or cornstalks for me. I’m happy to simplify, simplify, simplify.

But … oh, OK, I’ll get out the brown plaid tablecloth. With matching napkins. And the Autumn Spice candles. Then there’s the popcorn bowl painted with candy corn. Didn’t I make a Halloween tree one year? And I might as well find those pottery jack-o-lanterns while I’m at it …

Customer Service

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I am fascinated with the coffee setup at my car dealership. I mean, this thing has every possible flavor of coffee you could want, as well as tea, sweeteners and creamers. It’s like a mini coffee shop right there in the waiting area. For free. And it’s way fun to use, too. You pick out the little foil packet with the coffee or tea you want and insert it into the maker (on the far right in the photo above). Follow the prompts, press a button, put a cup under the spout and in a minute you’ve got your drink — and the machine has swallowed the packet and is ready for the next. I don’t even like instant coffee, yet I can’t help but play with this every time I’m there. There’s also a drip coffee maker with both leaded and unleaded (as my husband calls “caf” and “decaf”) — I’m guessing that’s for folks who aren’t patient enough for instant. And speaking of cool things in businesses, this mouthwash station is in the women’s restroom (and I assume the men’s, too) of a downtown business center, and I’ve noticed similar ones in a couple other places. A great idea, especially for those of us quilty of carrying toothbrushes in our purses — a holdover habit from having to wear braces. Twice.

Wine on Court

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Wine has come to downtown Florence, Ala.! While it surely was fun to buy wine at Mapleton Cellars (in the almost 200-year-old George Coulter House on South Pine Street), it’s equally fun to buy wine downtown now that The Wine Seller is open. The Mapleton folks needed the space back in their home, so they closed the business earlier this summer. But a new downtown wine shop is filling the empty niche Mapleton left. Open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays, the Wine Seller is at 324 N. Court St., on the corner of Court and Seminary where Lori Davis Gallery most recently was located (and where Culpepper’s Bakery was 40 or so years ago — you almost still can smell the cinnamon rolls and cheese bread). The new shop is stocked with wine for any budget and any occasion, with a helpful staff to help you figure out what you need. But wait, there’s more! What’s wine without cheese? Find the perfect accompaniment to your bottle in a small cooler stocked with delicious hard-to-find-locally choices. There’s also crackers, bread, vinaigrettes, oils and other gourmet goodies, many under The Wine Seller’s own label. Plus, you can find jewelry and other gifts here. The store is elegant yet cozy, with space set up for wine tastings (planned for twice a month, including First Fridays) and other events such as after-hours private parties. Get on the e-mail list at wineseller@att.net or call 256.766.1568.

Glass As You’ve Never Seen It Before

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Most people think of “glass” as something you drink out of or something you sweep off the kitchen floor when you get too fumble-fingered. But go to the exhibit at Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts in Florence, Ala., and you’ll have a whole new appreciation for the word. Cal Breed, owner of Orbix Hot Glass studio in Fort Payne, truly is a master glass worker. You’ll be amazed at the shapes and colors he creates — the luminosity of his work and the subtleties of pattern and texture are mesmerizing. Be sure to watch the video, on a laptop in the lobby, before you see the exhibit — learning how Breed and his workers create their designs is fascinating. You’ll never take glass for granted again! All pieces on display are for sale, plus there are smaller pieces in the gift shop. As always, one of the best things about an exhibit at Kennedy-Douglass is that it’s absolutely free. All you have to do is walk in and admire. A reception for Breed is 5:30-8 p.m., Thursday, Sept.18 (the last day of the exhibit), also is free and open to everybody. Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts is at 217 E. Tuscaloosa St., on the north side of Wilson Park. It’s open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call the center, (256) 760-6379, for details and visit http://www.orbixhotglass.com/ for more of Breed’s work.

Seen and Heard

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Near downtown Florence, Ala., this morning — I saw newly reelected incumbent mayor Bobby Irons walking along a busy city street, in full business attire, picking up his own campaign signs. It sort of made me wish I lived in his town so I could have voted for him.

At the car dealership in Florence yesterday — I was waiting for my car to be given the OK after its oil change and other scheduled maintenance when three older (70s? 80s?) women in perfectly coifed hair and perfectly pressed pantsuits joined me in the waiting area. Apparently they were lifelong Florence residents and lifelong friends. One was the driver and the other two had come along for the car repair. Anyway, of course we all got to talking, although I mainly eavesdropped … I mean, listened. One topic of conversation was the “hobos” who would stop by their houses when they were little and ask for food. “Times were hard then, but my mama always cooked extra for the hobos,” one woman said. “She’d put extra sweet potatoes and cornbread in the stove pipe to stay warm and then when one would stop by, she’d put him at the table, get out a plate and feed him with the food she’d saved.” Another of the trio nodded in agreement. “Yes,” she said, “those stovepipes were the original microwaves!”

Recently in Birmingham, Alabama — My college-student daughter said that during conversation with a counselor who was an older woman (60s?), my daughter had to adjust her skirt as she stood up because her slip was showing. The woman asked her, “Are you wearing a slip? Nobody wears a slip anymore. I don’t even have a slip! Why are you wearing a slip?” And of course my daughter answered, “Because my mother makes me.” The more my daughter thought about this, though, the more she wondered if she was perhaps behind the times. So a day or so later she was with a couple of friends she’d grown up with who’d come to Birmingham to have lunch with her. She asked them, “Do y’all still wear slips?” The consensus: “Of course!” The reason why: “Because our mothers make us!” I am vindicated.

DNC Fashion

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Look, let’s all admit that most women notice what most other women are wearing. And let’s all stipulate that, unfair though it is, most women judge or form opinions or make assumptions — or whatever you want to call it — about most other women based on what most of those other women are wearing. It’s just the way things are. And it’s quite true that your style signals to others what you think about yourself and what you think about the image you’re presenting to others. That’s just the way things are, too. So, what did you think? I think that Hillary Clinton’s orange-gold-pumpkin pantsuit was all her and the exact right thing for her to wear for what she wanted to do. And I think that Michelle Obama’s basic blue (green? blue-green? teal?) jersey dress livened up with her own brooch was as strong a statement and as evocative of her story as her speech was. I’d wear the dress over the pantsuit, myself, but I thought both were reflective of their wearers. On the other hand, I wish I had the courage to be as exuberantly patriotic as Flag Woman:

Muffin Mania

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Muffins are the perfect food. I’m talking here about real homemade muffins, warm and melty from the oven, with crunchy tops and moist middles bursting with good things such as blueberries, apples, raisins and nuts —  then torn in two and reverently topped with your spread of choice. (Do not try this with anything you have to tear the plastic off of.) In my former life as the mother of teenagers, I was a master muffin maker, but I gave it up as my nest gradually emptied and friends started taking their hamburgers out of the buns. But a recipe in this cookbook inspired me to try again. Martha Foose is the author of “Screen Doors and Sweet Tea” and owner of famed Bottletree Bakery in Oxford, Miss., (go to www.oxfordcvb.comisfor Bottletree  and other Oxford info, especially if you’re headed there for the first Presidential debate on Sept. 26). She’s the best kind of Southern woman: Smart, funny and strong — the kind who can feed a sweaty park full of hot and hungry people while wearing an adorable sundress with coordinated espadrilles. That’s what Foose did when she was the guest chef recently at the Spring Park Farmer’s Market in Tuscumbia, http://www.cityoftuscumbia.org/Latest_News/index.html, Ala. (This link is from 2007 but the information is still correct.)  The audience at Spring Park demonstrations always is a tough crowd — they know what good food is — but Foose charmed them, deliciously. She made me believe that even after a couple-years’-break, I too could turn out to-die-for blueberry muffins. And she was right, although it took me a couple tries to get my rhythm back. (Click here to read the rest of the story: http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20080822/ARTICLES/808220302)

If you value food, family and friends, Foose’s cookbook is a must-have. The photography’s gorgeous, and Foose adds tips and suggestions in her own Mississippi style — you can almost hear her Delta accent. Almost all bookstores and online booksellers have this book. Visit http://www.marthafoose.com/ for a list of stores that sell autographed copies.

Here’s the Blueberry Muffins recipe:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon each baking soda and salt

Grating of nutmeg

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (do not thaw) blueberries

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange zest

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Spray 18 muffin cups or line with paper baking cups. In large bowl with a whisk, combine dry ingredients. Toss in blueberries to coat and evenly distribute. In separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Using rubber spatula, combine wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full. Bake 15 minutes or until tops spring back lightly when touched. Let cool 5 minutes then turn out onto rack.

Halloween Baby

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Grandmas cannot resist Baby Gap. I don’t even try anymore. When I saw these adorable Halloween one-piece outfits today, I knew they had “Grandson Nolan Thomas Behel” written all over them — well, besides “Short and Sweet” and “Little Pumpkin.” Because he is all of those things. Don’t you agree?

But I did happen to wander over to the other side of Gap and picked up my favorite two-for-$20 camisoles in the basic colors of white and black. I always grab these when they’re in stock and wear them all the time as layering pieces since I’m too vain to wear blue jeans that actually fit me so I have to do all I can to cover up the resulting tummy bulge.